Before accepting a counter-offer you need to think about your motivation for leaving. Normally, when leaving people feel they want the following:
Higher salary
More variety
Better work-life balance
Opportunity for promotion
Often, a counter-offer will only solve one of these wants.
Consider whether that’s really enough to make you happy in the long term.
The unfortunate truth of counter-offers
Counter-offers can be very frustrating for recruiters and the new business. It’s very challenging to compete with a counteroffer but most of the time they aren’t worth it. I’ve seen a lot of candidates accept a candidate and within 6 months they’re back on the market due to everything returning to the status quo.
Managing a counteroffer
As a recruiter, I want what’s best for my candidates which means being completely transparent even when that means missing out on a placement. Building a solid rapport with candidates enables me to assess whether they’re making the best decision for them. Most of the time a counter-offer is only a temporary fix.
On the contrary, a business may learn the error of its ways after a resignation. There is a chance they realise what they’ve been doing wrong and things improve afterward. Every situation may be unique.
The important thing is understanding why counter-offers happen, what they typically are, and why they may not work out so that you can deal with the situation when faced with it.
I’ll leave you with two questions to consider.
Who has your best interest at heart, the new business or your current company?
In the long term which company will you prefer working for?
